Italian Episcopal Conference

Archdioceses of Italy

The Italian Episcopal Conference (Italian: Conferenza Episcopale Italiana) is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church, the official assembly of the bishops in Italy. The conference was founded in 1971 and carries out certain tasks and has the authority to set the liturgical norms for the Mass. Episcopal conferences receive their authority under universal law or particular mandates. Its president has been Angelo Bagnasco since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 March 2007.

It is the only bishops conference for which the pope as Primate appoints the President and Secretary-General. In almost all other conferences the president is elected, while the secretary-general is elected in all others.^{[lower-alpha 1]} Vatican sources suggested in August 2013 that Pope Francis, as part of a more general reform of the national bishops conferences to promote collegiality, is considering allowing the Italian bishops to elect their own officers.^[1][2]

List of Presidents of the Italian Episcopal Conference

• Ildefonso Schuster (1952–1953)
• Adeodato Giovanni Piazza (1953–1954)
• Maurilio Fossati (1954–1958)
• Giuseppe Siri (1959–1965)
• A temporary committee of cardinals with collective presidency: Giovanni Colombo, Ermenegildo Florit, Giovanni Urbani (1965–1966)
• Giovanni Urbani (1966–1969)
• Antonio Poma (1969–1979)
• Anastasio Ballestrero (1979–1985)
• Ugo Poletti (1985–1991)
• Camillo Ruini (1991–2007)
• Angelo Bagnasco (2007–present)

Secretaries-General of the Italian Episcopal Conference

The official that deals with the day-to-day affairs of the Conference is the Secretary-General.

• Camillo Ruini (28 June 1986 – 7 March 1991)
• Dionigi Tettamanzi (14 March 1991 – 20 April 1995)
• Ennio Antonelli (26 May 1995 – 5 April 2001)
• Giuseppe Betori (5 April 2001 – 8 September 2008)
• Mariano Crociata (25 September 2008 - 19 November 2013)
• Nunzio Galantino, interim (30 December 2013)^[3]

See also

• Avvenire
• Sergio Pintor

Notes

1. The exceptions are Belgium, where the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels is president ex officio, and the Latin church in Arab lands where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is always president.^[1]

References

1. Galeazzi, Giacomo (8 April 2013). "Pope: Italian bishops to elect their own president and secretary". Vatican Insider. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
2. Allen Jr., John L. (22 November 2013). "U.S./Vatican ties; Francis as Deng Xiaoping; and witchcraft". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
3. "Nomina del Segretario Generale della Conferenza Episcopale Italiana". Rinunce e Nomine, 30.12.2013. Holy See Press Office. Retrieved January 3, 2014.